School of Thought
“The immediate future is going to be tragic for all of us unless we find a way of making the vast educational resources of this country serve the true purpose of education, truth and justice.”
Education. Not a word that has necessarily always created so much controversy, yet no matter where you live right now in this country, you are likely experiencing varying degrees of anxiety relating to the re-opening of schools. We are split on a multitude of educational, health and safety issues, most pressing, is whether or not our children heading back into school, while we continue to be swallowed whole by a virus, is the best idea. So, what do we know? We know that opposing political views are inherently fueling this important conversation inevitably creating deeper cracks in an already fragile foundation. Yet, the split on this particular issue remains a bit of a quandary. How could the safety of children and the adults charged with their education, also called “teachers” have become so controversial?
“Education in the light of present-day knowledge and need calls for some spirited and creative innovations both in the substance and the purpose of current pedagogy.” Anne Sullivan said that. She might best be remembered as simply “Helen Keller’s teacher” or even ‘The Miracle Worker’. Regardless of how she is remembered, as we all know, her one student was a young child of just seven years old when they were first acquainted, and we know that she was both deaf and blind. What is possibly not as well known is that Anne Sullivan was partially blind for much of her early life as well. It was her own partial blindness that was likely the singular reason why she was able to have such a significant impact on her pupil. With her own blindness and early struggles, she had a depth of understanding that bridged the divide for Helen Keller. While her dulled senses remained lifeless, with the help and guidance from Anne Sullivan, her teacher, she learned to awaken her other senses in order to learn to communicate.
Teachers today are forced to work in mostly uncharted territory that, by the way, included challenging divisions within their classrooms before this virus took hold. They are, however, at an unprecedented disadvantage because they have no real frame of reference, making these new circumstances vastly unrelatable. Having never gone through a global pandemic, along with their students, they cannot speak from a place of authority on the issue of education conducted primarily through a screen, while their skill set is ultimately challenged. History remembers the story of Helen Keller and her mentor and friend, Anne Sullivan, because their many educational breakthrough accomplishments were momentous, conserving the memory of their place in time. How will we be remembered in history books? As we watch in real time as a deadly health issue becomes a political football, how will our brief snapshot in time be memorialized for future generations?
Today, history is certainly being made in schools. As we, a contemporary society, embark on the current challenge of ‘should we or shouldn’t we’ be sending our children back to school in the next few days and weeks, I cannot help but wonder what Anne Sullivan would say about this abrupt educational disruption. Maybe she would say something like, “Certain periods of history suddenly lift humanity to an observation point where a clear light falls upon a world previously dark.” Maybe that could have been accurate in another period of time, but now probably not so much. The current assortment of humankind cannot agree on the color of the sky without an accompanying heated exchange let alone have the collective capacity to mutually allow time for objective reflection and observation. As we grapple with the reality of knowing that our ‘normalcy’ is on a never-ending hiatus. Feeble attempts to regain pre-virus days are met with fear as simple words like ‘spike’ and ‘sanitize’ and even ‘mask’ have taken on a whole new sense of urgency. Maybe that’s what Anne Sullivan meant. Or maybe it’s not what she meant at all. She entered into the memorable pandemic of 1918 and successfully came out the other side, so maybe her perspective is worth considering.
Perspective. The truth is that we all have different needs which lend themselves to an overall unalignment of perspective. We become angry when others do not share our views because we have become a country that takes very seriously the idea of ‘every man for himself’. We want to receive what we ourselves are unwilling to give. We want to be understood and yet we are incapable of understanding. We speak unkind words frequently and mostly with no filters because we are conditioned to just say what we want with little consideration given to any residual fallout. A fast-moving society that is generally self-indulgent will inevitably be challenged by the idea of slowing down which completely flies in the face Ms. Sullivan’s reference to an “observation point”. Survival without the comforts of familiarity is disconcerting and puts us on guard. This virus has become a proverbial wedged wrench in what can best be described as our freedom. And those are the same freedoms that we have come to rely on and celebrate until, of course, they are infringed upon without our consent.
Anne Sullivan said, “We have no firm hold on any knowledge or philosophy that can lift us out of our difficulties.” And that is indisputable as we are forced to accept the unknown as our aimless guide. And when we confuse what is right and being righteous, we lose sight of the challenges that we face. In the case of a new global pandemic, it is probably safe to say without too much contention, that we are quite literally flying by the seats of our pants. Truth, facts, statistics and science are all wildly unpopular ideas often met with obstinance and rebellion. We learn early on that 1 + 1 can only equal 2 and yet when we are presented with basic math today when dealing with provable statistics, we will argue that the numbers have been altered.
We all come from different walks of life and our childhood experiences inevitably bleed into our personal parenting practices. Anne Sullivan spoke of ‘self-culture’ which, summarily, can best be described as how we work to develop our minds based on our own abilities and determinations. In her commencement speech as valedictorian of her class, she said, “Self-culture is a benefit, not only to the individual, but also to mankind. Every man who improves himself is aiding the progress of society, and every one who stands still, holds it back. The advancement of society always has its commencement in the individual soul. It is by battling with the circumstances, temptations and failures of the world, that the individual reaches his highest possibilities.” That sentiment is as true today as it was in the time that those words were first spoken. When the spoke of a wheel is broken, forward movement is temporarily limited until it can be fixed, thereby making it fully functioning again. So too is an entire society physically, emotionally and mentally impacted by a belligerent moving target whose wake is felt far more than it is seen. Society members of all ages left trying to regain their footing while meagerly grasping for a sense of what was previously known as their normalcy. Because in the end, it is personal. It is about individuals who either can or cannot accept abrupt changes finding an alternate view of adaptability and ultimately salvation. Society simply cannot benefit or advance when its individual occupants are unwilling to work on themselves for the betterment of the whole. Contrary to Ms. Sullivan’s optimistic projections of going forth and becoming a productive self-culture full of possibilities, we have instead become a stagnant society encroached by instability and judgment.
As we consider our children and school, it is impossible to not be clouded by our views on other, less pressing, issues. In many cases, those views have never seen the light of day and yet, we are forced to emerge from our dark closets with unusually high levels of vociferousness. Although there are many opinions swirling around like cotton candy regarding the re-opening of schools across the land, there are really only three that have managed to get much of the overall attention. It’s simple really. Option one is to just send children back to school as if nothing has happened so that parents that can get back to work, and the economy will bounce back like those small rubber balls from the vending machines. Option two is to not send them back at all and have them home exclusively remote learning. This option is obviously tough on parents because how are they supposed to work and keep the economy, not to mention their families, afloat? Option three, of course, is a combination of the two, also known as a ‘hybrid’ system. Or what can also be referred to really as a ‘compromise’ for the mostly unsatisfied masses. So. There you have it. Decide which of those options is the most appealing to you and then accept that in the end you probably won’t be happy anyway. Unless we get exactly what we want and need, we will never be satisfied with any other decision. Rest assured, though, most will put up a pretty good fight in the process because apparently there is no greater glory than willful combativeness.
But the truth is, whether anyone cares to admit it or not, schools struggle to assure parents that their children are safe, with or without a virus. Anne Sullivan said, “Children require guidance and sympathy far more than instruction.” Let us not forget the fact that some children’s experiences in school included fear and anxiety due to the increase in bullying both in and out of school. How quickly the very real issues impacting some children have been forgotten because of the distraction of the shiny object, otherwise known as the virus. They haven’t suddenly disappeared, rather they are also in a temporary holding pattern, likely being reinvented for later use.
For some time now, we have been walking a thin line due in part to our need for quick fixes and instant gratification. What we need and what is actually right are not usually concurrent points or ideas that work in tandem. So what is the right answer? The right answer is probably that there is no right answer that could possibly satisfy everyone. Maybe Anne Sullivan, with her wealth of knowledge from a different time period and with her personal experiences, could say something to calm our minds and hearts. Maybe she would say, “Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose – not the one you began with perhaps, but one you’ll be glad to remember.” Exactly. New erratic circumstances are unfortunately leading this conversation making definitive solutions virtually impossible. Being open-minded and flexible to change has literally become our only option. In the end, maybe this forced and abrupt timeout is an opportunity to make necessary adjustments to our goals and purpose. Maybe, by being forced to slow down, we have been given a chance to consider a different perspective. Because the truth is, the familiar comforts of the past are a secondary consideration when we factor in the primary concerns surrounding the health and safety of our future.
Anne Sullivan said, “We imagine that we want to escape our selfish and commonplace existence, but we cling desperately to our chains.” And that is probably right. Most of us don’t see the forest for the trees, not because we haven’t been given the choice, rather it is because we don’t want to. We quickly become complacent by our own self-contained chains that we resist the urge or need to break free of them. Debating the merits of right, wrong or indifferent is not really the point of this discussion making the argument nothing more than an inefficient exercise in futility. Because in the end, it really is personal and about maintaining a semblance of control over our own choices. Controls, however, become obsolete when we attempt to rationalize that which is irrational. Especially when we are talking about an uncontrolled perpetrator, otherwise known as an obstinate virus, that remains unseen by the naked eye and has gone completely rogue.
Anne Sullivan, and others during that time in history, had a profound appreciation for simplicity. The idea of ‘less is more’ was not an insignificant barometer when measured up against its counterpart of ‘more is more’. Simpler times and circumstances taught us that our survival is not necessarily dependent upon how much we have, rather it is more about who we are as people. If Anne Sullivan were alive today, maybe she would be able to locate the silver lining and repeat something that she has been quoted as saying before, “If a love for truth and beauty and goodness is not cultivated, the mind loses the strength which comes from truth, the refinement which comes from beauty, and the happiness which comes from goodness.”
DISCLAIMER: All quotes and references were found on Wikipedia, Goodreads and perkins.org. All quotes are understood to be actual true statements and referenced for the sole purpose of illustrating a point. Quotes have been bolded and italicized to appropriately provide a delineation from the author’s personal perspectives.
